When Logan Stavely, 10, gets his school lunch this fall, he might get a hamburger or hot dog, but he always makes sure his beverage is the same: chocolate milk.
He drinks white milk at home, but never at school, and he's not alone. At most public elementary schools, chocolate milk outsells skim, 1 percent and 2 percent by margins as high as four to one.
"I like it. I think more people like chocolate milk," said Logan, who attends Worthen Elementary in Granite City.
No one is saying drinking dairy products is bad. But at a time when childhood obesity is surging, the availability of flavored milks like chocolate and strawberry in many cafeterias has raised concerns about whether the tasty liquid is the best for kids every day.
The issues are calories and sugar, said to Carol Schlitt, an University of Illinois Extension nutrition and wellness educator.
Both skim and 2 percent milk typically have 11 grams of sugar, while chocolate milk has 28 grams. The chocolate variety also has more than twice the calories of skim milk - 170 compared to 80. All of which, of course, makes it way more popular in school lunchrooms, Schlitt said.
"The whole issue is that chocolate milk consumption is so much higher than white milk, especially in elementary school," she said.
Some school boards have taken notice, expelling chocolate milk cartons just as they did with sodas and sweets. Most recently, the Washington, D.C., public school system approved eliminating flavored varieties from its menus this fall; the Florida Board of Education has been considering a similar statewide ban.
So far, the ouster has not reached Illinois. Flavored milk is one of several dairy options the state allows as part of its school lunch reimbursement program, along with skim, 1 percent and 2 percent milk, according to Illinois State Board of Education spokeswoman Mary Fergus.
She said including chocolate milk is an entirely local decision. "It's not something that the state tracks," she added.
Locally, chocolate milk is on the menu at every public school district in Madison, Monroe and St. Clair counties, according to regional school board officials. Lisa Casper, a Grandview, Mo.-based dietician with Sodexo, a food service company that provides service to school districts nationwide and in the Metro East, said the issue has come up in some districts served by the company, but not locally. She said flavored milk has never been pulled from a district served by Sodexo, which includes the Belleville Township, O'Fallon Township, Collinsville, Triad and Signal Hill school districts.
Some of that may be tied to a simple fact every parent knows about chocolate milk: It's better than nothing. Or as Schlitt puts it, "Is it better for individuals to be drinking some form of milk as opposed to no milk?"
A study by the Milk Processor Education Program showed that when flavored milk is removed, milk consumption drops 35 percent. That's a tough number to swallow for some school leaders.
Ruth Shull, director of cafeterias for the Waterloo School District, said parents have "tossed out" the idea of banning the cocoa variety, although it's never gained steam.
"I'm willing to live with it if they're drinking milk," said Shull, whose family operates a dairy farm.
Shull said the district's 2,700 students have developed better eating habits over the past few years, favoring more salads and fruits instead of nuggets and pizza.
"It takes more than just school food service to change a society's eating habits," Schlitt said. "But a lot of people will point to the school food service because that's one area where they have more control over what a child would eat."
Contact reporter Scott Cousins at 618-344-0264, ext. 113
Chocolate milk: The good and bad
Pros
- Encourages kids to drink milk
- Provides vitamins and proteins
- Already popular with many children
Cons
- Contains almost three times sugar amount
- Has up to twice the calories
- Contributes to childhood obesity
